We’ve covered Oyster War here quite a bit, Ben Towle’s historical fantasy webcomic about 19th century Chesapeake bay oystermen engaged in a territory war with some magical assistance— it’s part Scalped, part Sailor Twain. Towle alluded to a print publisher a while and ago and Oni just made it official: the print, color version is coming in September for SPX! Towle is a three time Eisner nominee for books like his Amelia Earhart bio, and this is a fun, frolic of a book.
In the coastal town of Blood’s Haven, the economy runs on oysters. Oyster farming is one of the most lucrative professions, but also the most dangerous. Not just from the unforgiving ocean and its watery depths—there are also oyster pirates to worry about! Commander Davidson Bulloch and his motley crew are tasked with capturing these ne’er-do-wells—but they don’t know that Treacher Fink, the pirates’ leader, possesses a magical artifact that can call forth a legendary spirit with the power to control the sea and everything in it!
“I started work on Oyster War five years ago with a very specific vision,” says creator Ben Towle. “I’d done several historical fiction books previously and now I wanted to jump squarely into the realm of the fantastic. Oyster War is a nautical adventure story set in a not-quite-real late 19th century US that’s full of pirates, brawlers, sea serpents, and shape-shifters. It’s far and away my favorite work to-date. I couldn’t be happier with the way Oni’s bringing the Oyster War print collection to life. Presentation was always in the back of my mind as I worked on the story. From the get-go I conceived of Oyster War as a big, hardcover, European album-sized book with high-end production values—and that’s exactly what’s going to wind up in readers’ hands!”
Oni’s March Madness thus far is awesome!